Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-08-19
GATHERING THE NEWS.
ACQUAINTANCE IS THE NEWSPAPER
MANS STOCK IN TRADE.

Getting News Is Like Buying Goods.
Certain Persons who Seem to Be News
Reservoirs-Never Violate Confidence.
A District Man."
was made aware at the beginning of
my six years experience as a district
man. that acquaintance is the stock in
trade OF a newspaper man. l found that
the next step was to make friends of
acquaintance, and then to retain their
friendship. This, in connection with
faculty of transferring thoughts TO paper,
making them readable and acceptable, and
having no scruples against hard work and
plenty of ii, which the district man can
find without advertising for it, makes up
the elements to insure success in covering
district, or, in fact, TO insure success in
any branch of newspaper work 1t has
been my purpose TO become known to
every man of note or prominence, all
politicians, all officials, in fact, to every
one in the various towns scoyern whose
acquaintance may be Of almost inestim-
able worth. 1t is not enough TO cultivate
the acquaintance of those representing
the sterner sex. find it fully as essen
tial, and certainly not less agreeable, to be
on cordial terms with femininity, and Co
lAftti9 q ANtAtttS 0AA
debted for information that has resulted
in columns of acceptable matter. In my
list of acquaintance throughout my dis
trict are, it is safe to say, thousands
among them representatives of every
branch of the territory's society.
SOMETHING LIKE SHOPPING.
Getting news is not unlike buying
goods. You 60 to certain stores for cer-
tain articles, so go to certain individuals
for certain kinds Of information. AS q
result of the making up of my acquaint
ance list l know just whom to call upon
personally, by telephone or otherwise, in
any town in the district to enlighten me
upon any subject that may be of public
interest. The quality or class of news de-
sired is the key to the persons TO whom
such news would probably be known, and
of whom inquiry should be made. There
are certain persons who seem to be news
reservoirs. Here it may be a hackman,
there barber, in another town hotel
clerk, elsewhere n trader, but in every
town there is some one person who knows
all that is astir, and it is as much part
of the business of the "district man. to
look up that person and then cultivate his
acquaintance as it is for him to begin
Tuesday to look forward with delight to
The same general principles hold in the
rural districts that are recognized in the
city as prerequisites for news gathering
Never violate confidence and jump into
print with story before your informer is
ready to say s'let 'er go.'' That has been
with me an infiexible rule. On n district
where official information is likely to
come from those met daily year in and
year out, one violation under such circum-
stances is more than likely to ruin all fu-
ture chances of trust in that quarter. The
rule laid down is not adopted as matter
Of expediency, but as one of honor, and
have found that after having gained that
con 6dence honor hath its own reward.
Having travelled over some portion of
my district daily for six years, have
formed the acquaintance of railroad and
express men, regular patrons of the sew
eral railroads mentioueds telegraph and
telephone operators, all OF whom know
my calling, and it is a very common oc-
currence for some one of them to volun-
teer information. 1t is often the case that
some friend telegraphs me of an important
event, and the receipt of telephone mes
sages that serve me good purpose is Of
almost daily occurrence.
MUST BE A "HUsTLER.
ltX no means NiO WISH 10 convey lHC
idea that ssdistrict man's'' friends are SO
numerous and obliging that he can sit
around and have his news served up to
him hot without any exertion on his part
Quite the contrary. From the nature Of
the case and the duties that deyolve upon
him, ne must be considerable of ''hust-
ler.n He must be his own exchange ed
itor and look carefully after the local pa-
pers on his district in order TO know what
is fermenting in his multitude of towns;
he is 'son CALI tweniy-four hours a day,
and his only regular assignment is "to
keep his district coycred;" in short, he is
expected to let nothing important escape
his attention and TO be first every time in
the race for news. The manifestations of
friendliness and consideration to which
have referred form goodly portion of the
means by which information is obtained.
1t would be well nigh impossible for
one individual to 'scover" such an extent
of territory as am supposed to take care
of, end do it thoroughly, were it not for
| the voluntary offering of friends, who can
| justly claim credit for part of whatever
success / may have gained. Then, again,
/ find that the average drummer is a store
house of information, that he hears of
much that is going on of which the public
| is not aware, and he is very handy factor
to consider when making up an inventory
of my stock in trade
To sum up briefly, then, what makes
district work successful: A wide circle OF
| friends, and, when you wish to reach them
| quickly and cannot see them personally, a
telephone line in prime working order,
| those friends fully understanding that no
responsibility will be thrown upon them
for acting as infornauts. Prank II. Pope
in The Writer.